What to buy?

I am no stranger to bourbon, enjoy it in many ways. PVW, Woodford, Jefferson are some of my favorites.

But last week, here in NY, my local store had a bevy of new bourbon's, many offshoots from standard brands, some I've never heard of before.

So, the question here is, if you could recommend some of the new single barrels that are out there, what would your pick that is smooth, round, flavorful, but not too sharp or overwelming? Something that can be enjoyed neat or with a bit of water.

Single barrels are becoming more and more common, which is a pretty cool thing. Stores are buying their own barrels and having it bottled. If you can find one of these, it would be a good place to start and unique to a certain extent. You asked a very good question that is asked by most people when they start out here. Read as many threads as you can, especially about tastings.

I'm gonna have to laugh because I'm thinking that 6 months down the road we are going to see this pile of "What should I buy next/What should I start with/What is this bottle worth?" posts. Which would make it very handy for anybody to find that's asking those questions all sitting there in the NEW-TO section.

Mark/Nebraska

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take... but by the moments that take your breath away. 11/25/2004

That sounds like Elmer T Lee to me. Good price point for a Single Barrel, too.

Ed

I'll second that one....excellent choice in my opinion. Another one in the $20-30 range is Eagle Rare 10yo SB. Raising the dollar amount a bit higher, my advice would be Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit and Blanton's.....like ETL, another offering from Buffalo Trace.

"All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me".....Winston Churchill

I met Elmer T. Lee a few months ago at a Buffalo Trace tasting. We sampled BT, Eagle Rare 17 YO, Pappy 20 YO, Weller 12 YO, Elmer T Lee Single Barrel and a few others. Mr. Lee is a lively old man. I think he said he was 86 YO. He said he still tastes for BT and picks the barrels for his own single barrel bottlings. His said his wife has as good of a nose for bourbon as him if not better. His next favorite in line was Eagle Rare 17 YO. So if you pick up one of those or just about anything from BT it is hard to go wrong. Good luck and cheers!

"Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." -Mark Twain